Lipitz FamilyOffice
BookSmarts Saved Lipitz Family Office $1000’s and Gave Them the Gift of Time
Lipitz FamilyOffice
Safeguarding a Legacy
The Lipitz family office, led by Gene Lipitz, is a single-family office responsible for managing the financial and investment affairs of multiple branches of the Lipitz family. This unique setup requires sophisticated bookkeeping, meticulous financial tracking, and seamless collaboration with various stakeholders.
When the family’s long-time controller took a position elsewhere, the Lipitz family office faced a critical transition. They needed a bookkeeping partner who could step in quickly and then continue to adapt to their complex and evolving needs. That’s when Gene turned to BookSmarts Accounting & Bookkeeping.
Challenges
Both the shift from a full-time controller and a migration to a more advanced general ledger system left the Lipitz family office with several specific challenges:
- Managing diverse investments: Single-family offices often have a wide variety of investments, some of which are quite complicated.
- Software Expertise: While the office was currently using QuickBooks, they were collaborating on the development of a new general ledger system, so they needed a team that knew their way around multiple software solutions and could adapt quickly.
- Sophisticated Bookkeeping Needs: The family office required detailed documentation of over 423 processes and the ability to handle one-off projects swiftly.
Quick Coordination: Quick and accurate communication and coordination between CPAs, investment committees, and other professional offices were essential.
"We were in the middle of a critical transition and needed someone with QuickBooks expertise who could learn our processes and jump in with both feet. BookSmarts stood out as the right partner. They were excited to do the work and flexible enough to meet our unique needs."
The Solution
BookSmarts Accounting & Bookkeeping offered the expertise and flexibility that the Lipitz family office needed. Known for their mastery in financial management, including portfolio accounting, performance reporting and partnership accounting, the BookSmarts team quickly adapted to the family office’s systems, ensuring a smooth transition and providing continuous support as new software was integrated.
Their team meticulously documented the complex financial processes, making sure that no detail was overlooked. By fostering seamless communication between the family office and other professional entities, BookSmarts proactively addressed potential issues before they became problems.
Additionally, their adaptable staffing model proved highly effective. BookSmarts uses a “tag-team” approach to ensure cross-trained staff are always available to manage various needs, reducing risk and enhancing overall resilience.
"BookSmarts has a unique ability to bring in people who naturally understand how to take ownership of problems and solve them, keeping me in the loop only when necessary. That has been a game-changer for us."
The Results
The partnership with BookSmarts resulted in several key benefits for the Lipitz family office:
- Improved Financial Accuracy: By fixing errors in key reports and investment accounts, BookSmarts ensured every penny was accounted for—saving the office from future tax penalties and liability, and keeping their financials on track.
- Cost Savings: A recommendation to apply excess cash to the line of credit saved the office $9,000 in monthly interest—putting more money back into the business.
- Streamlined Processes: Accounting operations were transformed, including a seamless transition from QuickBooks Desktop to QBO for 8 entities
- Time Savings: The time required for market value fund accounting reporting was cut by 10 months, from 20 months to just 10—freeing up valuable time and resources for the Lipitz family office to focus on more impactful business priorities.
- Better Decision-Making: By creating a consolidated asset allocation report and resolving long-standing issues, the Lipitz Family was better able to make strategic decisions that balanced growth and liquidity––such as distributing 32% of the 2020 net asset value (NAV)—a significant payout—while still maintaining 84% of the overall value.
"One of the things that BookSmarts allowed me to do that I couldn’t do before was provide more extensive financial support services at the family level. That freed up a lot of my time. And that has been a huge win."
